RC Secret Key Sequences

[gnirts]

Originally Posted by JBotAlan

As for the first question, I had to deal with that this year. Hold reset and program when you power on, then let off of reset but keep holding program for a few seconds, then let off program and tap reset. The controller should be back to normal. I don't know of any other sequences, but I'm sure there has to be at least one more.

BTW, it's in the IFI FAQ: lemme find the link...

EDIT: Found it: http://www.ifirobotics.com/forum/vie....php?p=338#338

JBot

This sequence doesn't always work for a stubborn RC. We tried it several times, and each time after tapping reset the program light would go green for about three seconds and then go orange again. We ended up having to reflash the RC with the master code and then hold down the program button while we downloaded new user code. In all, it took us about 30 minutes to troubleshoot. I know I was doing the unstick-from-program-mode sequence correctly, because our on our '06 RC it happens quite frequently, but our '07 RC just doesn't care. It's a real pain.

Does anyone know the causes of the stay-in-program-mode bug?

Thanks in advance,
Robinson

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by gnirts

Does anyone know the causes of the stay-in-program-mode bug?

I encountered one a couple of years ago that was due to an almost invisible sliver of aluminum physically grounding the PROG pin on the three-pin connector.

[esquared]

We had this problem about a week ago. Possibly the problem is that the program you downloaded was interrupted/severely broken. Symptoms include not being "stuck" in programming mode if you aren't tethered/radio modem connected, and you can press the button and send it into program mode. The RC is in a bizzare state of running but not running, where the watchdog LED (Code error) won't turn on. We resolved the issue by swapping laptops, and found we were having a problem with the serial port.

Otherwise, look for the sliver like A.A. suggested.

[geeknerd99]

Funny this should come up. Yesterday our RC went into Knight Rider mode and pulsed the green and red LEDs up and down until we hit the reset button. We're not really sure what caused it, but it sure looked cool, despite causing panic in the shop.

[esquared]

Originally Posted by geeknerd99

Funny this should come up. Yesterday our RC went into Knight Rider mode and pulsed the green and red LEDs up and down until we hit the reset button. We're not really sure what caused it, but it sure looked cool, despite causing panic in the shop.

http://www.ifirobotics.com/forum/vie...ght=diagnostic

That's what caused Knight Rider.

[Astronouth7303]

Originally Posted by geeknerd99

Funny this should come up. Yesterday our RC went into Knight Rider mode and pulsed the green and red LEDs up and down until we hit the reset button. We're not really sure what caused it, but it sure looked cool, despite causing panic in the shop.

That happened to me on the 2004 RC. See Christmas Tree Lights On The Controller for that incident. (See also: Does your RC do this?)

I have thought about getting the OI to do this to indicate something's wrong, but I haven't done it, yet.

[tdlrali]

Thanks for the info, guys!